McMath Wildcats now have two girls teams as reigning Richmond basketball champions, after the juniors won the local title on Thursday.
The junior girls success – defeating Burnett secondary 38-11 – follows up from the senior Wildcats, who won the Richmond championship last week and then the South Frasers, also last night.
The junior girls led Burnett start to finish for the victory, with Mirella Fernandes Boshell and Susu Zhang leading the way offensively, while Thea Hamberger controlled the boards at both end of the floor.
Jessie Huang and Aleah Kippan shot well from the perimeter, however coach Jamie Kippan said that “every member of the team contributed valuable minutes in the win.”
On Wednesday, the junior Wildcats defeated Richmond Christian in the semi-final by a score of 37-16 to advance to the final.
The team finished an undefeated season in the junior league, with a 10-0 record and are 17-6 for the whole season.
They now advance to the 8-team Junior South Fraser Championships next week (Feb. 21-24) being held in Richmond.
The top three teams from this tournament advance to the Junior Girls Provincials held March 1-4 at the Langley Events Centre.
Wildcats senior girls go marching on
Meanwhile, the Wildcats’ senior girls basketball program marched on this week with an exciting climax to the South Fraser Zone Championships.
McMath took the regional title after a pulsating win against Clayton Heights from Surrey.
According to coach Kippan, it was a “hard fought, foul-filled game” which ended with the Wildcats edging out 56-51 winners.
The Wildcats’ Marina Radocaj was selected tournament MVP, while Caitlin Kippan and Aaria Johal were named to the first all-star team.
The day before, McMath defeated Burnsview by a score of 76-24 in the semi-final.
The team is now preparing for the AAA Girls Provincial Championships at the Langley Events Centre March 1-4, where they will be the number one-seed out of the South Frasers and likely number three-seed overall in the 16-team tournament.
